Elizabeth Kathleen Holman, 91, born Nov. 21, 1918, passed away June 25, 2010, at the Verdi home of daughter Tamara Baren, attended by family and friends. She resided in Nevada, the San Francisco Bay area, and Europe. You may have known this lively, unique, brave, and beautiful lady by any one her many different names. Maybe you knew:
- Elizabeth Kniveton, or Lizzie, in Texas oil fields with wildcat oilman daddy, Roy Kniveton and mother Madeline. From these years she carried a love of big events, the promise of the future, and a determination to never look back.
- 'Libby' at the University of Texas pursuing a journalism degree.
- 'Kay' while drafting at the shipyards in Richmond, Calif., in WWII.
- 'Kathleen', adventuring with husband Steele Holman until 1989: to Mexico to film the volcano Paricutin and vacation, to the South Pacific to Truk, Micronesia, to Manila, the Philippines, and Waikiki, Hawaii while Steele worked for the federal government. Returning to Berkeley, Calif., they designed houses on Panoramic Way and Dwight Place. She raised three children, Rod, Tamara, and Sona, while managing a career in Bay area real estate.
- Completing an ancient history degree at University of California, Berkeley in 1969 during the Free Speech movement.
- 'Happy' Holman spreading smiles as she pioneered building houses by Misfits Flat on Breakaheart Road, Dayton.
- 'Kathleen', solo in Paris in her late 50s, famous for hats and poems, or in Geneva, Switzerland, at 75, with her second husband, Gordon Cartwright, traveling Europe and Africa, reveling in the glamour of diplomatic highlife.
- In San Rafael, Calif., heading down B Street for muffins every morning.
- In Reno at the Seasons where she lived five years, loving the drama of mountain views, the valley's sweep, clouds above.
No matter when or how you knew Kathleen Holman, the words 'beautiful, happy, adventurous, and kind' come to mind. We will miss her: daughters Tamara Baren, Sona Holman, and grandchildren Gabriel and Marika Baren.